OMG... ASFs are magic!!

As some of you might know, my girl Nerissa was fasting for over 9 months... I got her as an adult last October, and she literally had NEVER eaten for me. Her former owner said live ASFs usually snap her out of a fast, but those are illegal here - so I kept trying with both live & f/t mice and rats. Then while visiting San Diego this week, I picked up a bag of frozen ASFs from a pet shop (remembered seeing them there previously). Wasn't sure if frozen would do the trick, but she took it almost immediately! I am seriously in shock. :O:O

I only gave her one small ASF, since I didn't want her to regurgitate after such a long fast... plus there's a good chance she's gravid, and I know gravid females shouldn't eat much (if anything). Now that she's officially broken her fast, do you think she'll ever take mice and/or rats? I'm not sure I could find a local supplier of frozen ASFs, and ordering them for one snake would get expensive & tiring. As much as I love Nerissa, I'd have to re-home her (somewhere outside of CA) if that were the case. Guess I'll just finish off what's left, which will last another month if I keep giving her one - or should I offer two next week? Anyway, I just wanted to share the good news, since I was REALLY worried about this gal!

P.S. She looks very content now, resting under a sheet of newspaper... I swear she smiled at me when I peeked in. :)

Congrats on getting her to eat!

Why are live ASFs illegal there?

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Originally Posted by chris4554

Congrats on getting her to eat!

Why are live ASFs illegal there?

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Thanks! :) From what I've heard, they are illegal because our climate mimics their native environment... so if they were released into the wild, we could have an overabundance of ASFs running free. If I remember correctly, that's also why hedgehogs, gerbils and ferrets are illegal here. Of course, I think they're only considering certain climates in California - it's a huge state, and San Francisco (where I live) can't be anything like Africa weather-wise. :cool:

Btw, people at the shop in San Diego suggested talking with East Bay Vivarium (in Berkeley) about a local frozen ASF supplier... I don't want to speculate on where they originally come from, but there must be somebody around here with access. I really don't want to get rid of this snake, so I'm determined to find a solution! :gj:

I have an adult girl that I picked up last July, she went off feed until April of this yeah (so yeah about 9 months), she finally took an asf then 2, after 3 successful feeds, I offered a sm rat, she nailed it. Now she will eat what ever I throw in her tub, live or f/t.

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I have an adult girl that I picked up last July, she went off feed until April of this yeah (so yeah about 9 months), she finally took an asf then 2, after 3 successful feeds, I offered a sm rat, she nailed it. Now she will eat what ever I throw in her tub, live or f/t.

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Good to hear! :) I hope she'll take rats/mice eventually, because I totally don't want to deal with getting ASFs... and she's just too sweet to give away.

@Chris: They're illegal in cali because cali likes to make things illegal, especially with regards to animals.

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

@Chris: They're illegal in cali because cali likes to make things illegal, especially with regards to animals.

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Yup. Its ridiculous.

buy a large bag of asf's and a large bag of similar sized rats and maybe put all the frozen in one bag and i think they could still gain a little of the sent.... I dont know... never had to deal with the problem but :gj:

Congrats on getting her to eat!

I'm now very iffy about buying or taking in adult ball pythons. I've had to deal with a situation like that with a pair of adults last year. They will still only take small live mice. Good luck getting a female big enough to breed on mice. I hope my female will make it this year.

Didn't know ASF's were illegal in some states. No offense, but in many ways, California is just weird.

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Originally Posted by Oxylepy

Yup. Its ridiculous.

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what's ridiculous about a state protecting itself from envasive species that wreck havoc with the enviroment and local economy?

why is it so hard to look at BOTH sides of the coin?

Whats ridiculous is the state of California, what a joke, its the silliest place on earth in my opinion, its where alot of people like to go to bury their heads in the sand. Im not saying everyone in California is bad, I am just saying the state itself is the very incarnation of evil, circa 1984.

(Sorry about the almost completely unrelated post, lol)

On the slightly disappointing side, if she ate for you, she is not gravid--at least, not post-ovulation. If she is pre-ovulation, you should still be pairing her up.

I had a female pastel that had always been a great eater, but right when she hit about 1,000g, she decided to fast for several months. It was very frustrating, and I was iffy about offering ASFs. But after almost 4 months I went ahead and got some live ASFs...offered them to her, and like "magic," she ate two of them back to back and was loving it. The next week I offered her a regular rat and she ate it and loved it.

It was like the ASF broke her fast, but reminded her that she loved food, not just ASFs. After the ASF, she gets excited to eat anything now. Since I have ASFs breeding now, I offer them once in a while to all my snakes....for a treat. Knock on wood, but I haven't had any that rejected rats or mice once they had an ASF. My young snakes eat rats, mice and ASFs all interchangeably.

Seems almost like an ASF now and then keeps everyone excited to eat anything...no matter what type of rodent it is.

Couldn't be said any better.

I don't understand what's with these fanatics, it's almost scary.

Agriculture is a HUGE part of the state's economy, and we provide a ton of food for the nation. We might be the largest food producing state, but I can't find any immediate citation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy...de_and_tourism

I care more about people being able to eat and the possibility of many economy not being screwed up more so than anything related to someone's pet.

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Originally Posted by twh

what's ridiculous about a state protecting itself from invasive species that wreck havoc with the environment and local economy?

why is it so hard to look at BOTH sides of the coin?

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Would you care to enlighten me as to what occurred in 1984?

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Originally Posted by Ham

Whats ridiculous is the state of California, what a joke, its the silliest place on earth in my opinion, its where alot of people like to go to bury their heads in the sand. Im not saying everyone in California is bad, I am just saying the state itself is the very incarnation of evil, circa 1984.

(Sorry about the almost completely unrelated post, lol)

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You want to know what is weird ?

In Missouri it is illegal to own them, but not to sell them. :confused:

Some states are backward about a lot of things, otherwise we wouldn't be worried about our snakes being banned.

Gale

You can also try to take an asf and rub it on a mouse or rat to get the scent to transfer. Sometimes you can fool them and if that works, you can switch after a few feeds.

Looks like I'll be calling East Bay Vivarium. I have a girl who has been off feed for 5 months now. She acts interested whenever prey is offered, flicking her tongue and even getting in a striking position, but then she just loses interest. She used to be an amazing feeder, ate anything. Fingers crossed an ASF will get her to eat again.

i bet if you go to the pet shop and look for fancy mice you will see a asf. i seen them called that here (some kind of loop hole for some sellers).
i know they ran about 15 bucks around here per rodent.
i got a reall pain with mine prefering alive mice or rat pups over anything

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

On the slightly disappointing side, if she ate for you, she is not gravid--at least, not post-ovulation. If she is pre-ovulation, you should still be pairing her up.

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That's what I was thinking later, and it does make sense. I wasn't going to pair her again this season, due to the crazy fast... but now that she's eating again, I'll let Toby or Dave have another go at her. ;) Even before this meal she was still weighing ~1700g, so I assume that is big enough!

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Originally Posted by Tikall

Looks like I'll be calling East Bay Vivarium. I have a girl who has been off feed for 5 months now. She acts interested whenever prey is offered, flicking her tongue and even getting in a striking position, but then she just loses interest. She used to be an amazing feeder, ate anything. Fingers crossed an ASF will get her to eat again.

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Hayward Reptile Room is a bit closer to you, so you might check with them too... there's also a guy who does deliveries (mice & rats) along 680/880, and he advertises on Craigslist. Good luck, and I'll let you know if I find anything first!

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

@Chris: They're illegal in cali because cali likes to make things illegal, especially with regards to animals.

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If what I said is true, there's nothing illogical about that... and might I remind you, we did legalize something every other state should. :P But I agree some of our laws are silly, and there is definitely a prejudice against certain animals here - particularly bully breed dogs.

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Originally Posted by Ham

Whats ridiculous is the state of California, what a joke, its the silliest place on earth in my opinion, its where alot of people like to go to bury their heads in the sand. Im not saying everyone in California is bad, I am just saying the state itself is the very incarnation of evil, circa 1984.

(Sorry about the almost completely unrelated post, lol)

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We should probably save this discussion for "off topic/quarantine," but I'm not really sure I get your point. :confused: Can't speak for everyone here, but I came to California as a child (age 6) with my family - so I had no reason to bury my head in sand at that age, LOL. I happen to love California, and think it gets an unnecessarily bad reputation... it's a HUGE state with tons of great stuff to offer, and people of literally every type. How can you generalize about a place like that? And what happened in 1984 that has you so mad?

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Originally Posted by Jason Bowden

Congrats on getting her to eat!

I'm now very iffy about buying or taking in adult ball pythons. I've had to deal with a situation like that with a pair of adults last year. They will still only take small live mice. Good luck getting a female big enough to breed on mice. I hope my female will make it this year.

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It can also happen with babies you raise, so there's no guarantee... I've had Delilah since she was practically a worm, and she's NEVER eaten a rat for me. She eats 2-3 mice per feeding now, and yes her growth isn't that great - barely 800g at 1.5 years old, versus ~1200g on my rat-eating girl of the same age. I expect the latter (a het albino) to breed this winter, but Delilah probably won't be ready until 2011-12. :(

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Didn't know ASF's were illegal in some states. No offense, but in many ways, California is just weird.

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And that's why I love it so much! :rolleye2:

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

Hayward Reptile Room is a bit closer to you, so you might check with them too... there's also a guy who does deliveries (mice & rats) along 680/880, and he advertises on Craigslist. Good luck, and I'll let you know if I find anything first!

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Yeah I know of that CL guy :). I've tried live and f/t mice and rats pretty much every week or every other week since she's been off feed, though. She's being very weird, acting hungry but not eating. I think the smell of an ASF could really get her back on track if I can get access to some. I'll ask Hayward Reptile Room! I haven't been there before, so I'll call ahead.

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

If what I said is true, there's nothing illogical about that... and might I remind you, we did legalize something every other state should. :P But I agree some of our laws are silly, and there is definitely a prejudice against certain animals here - particularly bully breed dogs.



We should probably save this discussion for "off topic/quarantine," but I'm not really sure I get your point. :confused: Can't speak for everyone here, but I came to California as a child (age 6) with my family - so I had no reason to bury my head in sand at that age, LOL. I happen to love California, and think it gets an unnecessarily bad reputation... it's a HUGE state with tons of great stuff to offer, and people of literally every type. How can you generalize about a place like that? And what happened in 1984 that has you so mad?

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I dont have a problem with people from California, maybe a few of em, lol...

I am just saying that the state has a terrible tendency to over legislate everything, and that the state can attract certain types of people and lawmakers because of that fact... and I was referring to 1984 the novel by George Orwell, because I think there are some similarities between the book and California...

PS I think that the physical landmass of California is a great place full of diverse environments, animals, and people, but I just think their politics are nuts...

Again sorry for the off topic post...

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Originally Posted by Ham

and I was referring to 1984 the novel by George Orwell, because I think there are some similarities between the book and California...

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Oh geez... as a librarian, you'd think I would have caught that reference! :D

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PS I think that the physical landmass of California is a great place full of diverse environments, animals, and people, but I just think their politics are nuts...

Again sorry for the off topic post...

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It's okay, we do have some wacky politics going on here... but I think the rest makes up for it. :gj:

Lolo, which San Diego shop did you get the ASFs from?